🌺 – braids flowers into your muse’s hair. (You didn't reblog the meme but it made me think of her so DO IT)
( We are happy to oblige! It is very Lina. )
@bratxprincexlestat
The garden was quiet now that night had fallen, only the soft rustle of leaves and the distant murmur of roads somewhere far out of sight. They’d met not long after dusk, while now evening stretched around them in comfortable silence. Crickets sang somewhere beyond the tree line and above them, the rest of the night's stars had begun to appear, peppering the sky in little silver freckles against increasingly darkening ink. Evalina sat on the wide stone bench tucked away at the side of the garden, the cool marble kissing the back of her thighs through the linen of her long skirt- it had been far too hot as of late, so she made no complaint of it. Behind her, Lestat moved with patience, his long fingers gently gathering sections of her wild, flame-bright hair.
“Did you pick those just for this?” she asked, soft smile warming her voice as she glanced back at him. The smile that curved her lips was fond, almost disbelieving- not of his kindness to her, he’d been nothing but charming and sweet to her since they’d first met, but a slight disbelief that he’d go to such trouble for something like this.
Lestat’s eyes met hers, gleaming with quiet amusement. “Of course I did, ma chérie. I thought they’d look lovely on you.” He gave no further explanation than that, and Evalina didn’t wish to ask for more either- Lavender, forget-me-nots, azalea, evening primrose, jasmine, a single creamy-petalled gardenia -some held carefully between fingers, some set aside next to her on the bench until he chose to use them, “Sit still for me,” he murmured, voice low velvet. There was no command in it though, only warm request, and Evalina happily complied- she still couldn’t rid the little smile playing on her lips while his fingers resumed their work, separating strands of her hair with surprising gentleness, finding a nicely sized section he could adorn that didn’t already have some kind of bead, bone or stone woven in.
And while he did, Evalina’s heart gave a silly little flutter, while she settled back into place to look ahead and let him work- Most of the flowers had already either closed completely, or begun closing for the night when they’d first wandered the garden paths earlier, yet he’d managed to find the rare few that remained open, still willing to offer their perfume to the dark. She hadn’t even noticed him gathering them at the time. One second his arm had been loosely around her own as they walked, the next he was behind her with this small, fragrant bounty in hand.
The first sprig of lavender was woven in near her temple, then a stem of jasmine lower down, his touch feather-light against her scalp through thick hair, Evalina able to catch little whiffs of their scent with each disturbance of their flowers. It was all too soothing too, but she let herself enjoy it, closed her eyes, leaning back into him just slightly as the braid grew longer under his hands, a living crown of flowers tucked, weft and woven into bright copper hair. He worked with a quietly focused intensity that he brought to everything, no frenzy or rush to it.
The gardenia was the last to be added in, the larger bloom’s stem pressed into the top of the braid, its heavy sweetness drifting around them as he tucked it deeper into place so it wouldn’t come loose, and Evalina let out a quiet, happy sound, when a little tap-tap of fingertips came to her shoulder a few moments later to signal he was done. She raised a hand cautiously to her shoulder.
Petals brushed against her fingertips- silky smooth, cool, and oh so delicate -and a grin spread across her face before she could stop it, crinkling the corner of green eyes. Turning slightly, she caught sight of a few pale blossoms woven amongst the fiery strands cascading over her shoulder where Lestat settled the braid for her to see, nestled amongst the copper and gold. For a moment she simply admired them, then she’s laughing again, softer this time, unable to contain her delight, "Oh, it looks beautiful Lestat! Where on earth did you learn how to do it so well??"
